What follows is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek guide to putting together an assessment plan, couched in culinary terms.  This has been done to give a more familiar and tasteful context to commonly used terms of assessment and evaluation.

• State the Mission
  (Example: To support research, education, and public service to further knowledge of apple pies.)
• Describe the Program Purposes
  (Example: To produce outstanding apple pies at the 9", 11", and the "piled higher and deeper" levels; to provide support to other baking programs; to collaborate on interdisciplinary efforts with ice cream and cheese programs.)
• Specify the Intended Objectives/Outcomes
  (Examples: Emerging pies will exhibit high standards of taste; consistent and technically correct crust characteristics; outstanding olfactory communication skills; and will create "life-long yearners" for more apple pie in a society dominated by fast food.)
• Specify Procedures, Measures, and Criteria
  Operationally define what is to be assessed within each objective/outcome
  (Examples: Taste will be uniformly good from first to last bite; the crust will be baked to a golden tan; the aroma of emerging pies will be mouth-watering.)
• Determine where in the process each assessment will take place
  (Betty Crocker's classic recipe will be followed; most assessment will take place during the senior capstone baking sequence.)
• Specify assessment methods for each objective/outcome
  (Examples of some possible methods: All pies will be visually inspected; a toothpick will be inserted into a representative sample of pies after 45 minutes; we will measure the placement rate in bites per minute of pie slice into the mouths of visiting relatives; a panel of expert taste testers will conduct periodic site visits.)
• Develop performance criteria for each objective/outcome
  (Example for taste: each bite will be judged uniformly delicious at least 90% of the time by a panel of expert taste testers.)
• Develop Assessment Implementation Plan
  (Example: Pies will be randomly sampled every 2 hours.  The tester in charge will conduct the sampling, analyze the results, report the findings, and attempt to keep his/her weight down.)
• Conduct Assessments and Write Up Results
  (Example: Conduct the visual inspection, toothpick test, and bites-per-minute placement measurement; periodically invite the panel of expert taste testers.  Create report on findings to be shared with program chefs.)
• Determine Feedback Channels
  (Example: Call the chefs together and share the results; let the apple growers know; inform the movers and bakers who may have an interest in "core" program outcomes.)
• Document Use of Results for Program Improvement
  (Example: Were the pie performance criteria met? Do we need to adjust the baking time? Document the changes to the recipe and why you made them; let your relatives know so they can adjust their gastronomic expectations.)